FARM-CITY RODEO FINISHES STRONG GLACIER PARK SCORCHED BY WILDFIRES SPORTS/1B REGION/6A TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2018 142nd Year, No. 202 One dollar WINNER OF THE 2018 ONPA GENERAL EXCELLENCE AWARD PENDLETON Wheat from Northwest deployed to war zone Seven ships, 200,000 tons en route to war-torn Yemen By GEORGE PLAVEN EO Media Group Staff photo by E.J. Harris Kasumi Wakamori and Yumie Keller take photographs Sage, a great horned owl, on Monday while touring Blue Mountain Wildlife in Pendleton. SISTERLY LOVE Sister City visitors find much to like about Pendleton By ANTONIO SIERRA East Oregonian P endleton, Oregon and Mina- misoma, Japan are designated sister cities, but it’s not a relation- ship meant to take literally. But Satomi Hase said she feels like she found a big sister for real with her host family. The girl from her host family had been to Minamisoma as a part of the Sister City exchange program, and she and Satomi have been spending some of their spare time translating the Japa- nese from a picture book the American girl bought while in Japan. Satomi and the five other Mina- misoma 16-year-olds who participated in this year’s exchange program have been immersing themselves in Pendle- ton and Eastern Oregon since Aug. 7. In that week, the group has gone to the Tamastslikt Cultural Institute, the Umatilla County Fair and Hamley’s, and they hit another milestone on Mon- day when they visited the Round-Up. The girls were led through a tour of the Round-Up and Happy Canyon Hall of Fame Museum, where Yumie Keller, the contingent’s chaperon, acted as translator. Staff photo by E.J. Harris Haruka Kyoya, right, passes a hawk’s feather to Rino Kobayashi, center, as Miyo Sato looks on in one of the flight pens at Blue Mountain Wildlife on Monday in Pendleton. With Keller mixing her Japanese with “cowboy” and the occasional wrist spin to indicate a lasso, the girls learned the stories of Roy Raley, Til Taylor, and other Round-Up history. The group gasped when they saw archival footage of cowboys bronc riding, steer wrestling, or calf roping, oohing in recognition when the tour touched on something recognizable. Keller connected with the exhibit on Yakima Canutt and his career in Hol- lywood, where he did stunt work for famous films like “Ben-Hur,” “Stage- coach,” and “Gone with the Wind.” “My father would like this photo,” Keller said as she snapped a picture on her phone of a montage of Canutt’s film work. As they scattered into the Round-Up gift shop, the girls shared their thoughts on their time in Pendleton so far. Several group members said they enjoyed the Umatilla County Fair and See SISTER/8A “It was like going back in time with an extra large dose of politeness.” — Jordan McDonald, chaperoning with his wife, Pendleton City Councilor McKennon McDonald Seven ships loaded with soft white wheat grown in the Pacific Northwest are bound for Yemen in the Middle East to feed millions of people on the brink of famine in the war-torn country. The U.S. Agency for International Devel- opment, or USAID, purchased roughly 200,000 tons of wheat — enough to feed 7 million people in Yemen for two months — and is working with the United Nations World Food Program to distribute the shipments. Officials gathered for a press conference Friday outside the historic Albers Mill in Port- land to announce the humanitarian mission. Stephen Anderson, Yemen country leader for the World Food Program, said the wheat will provide much-needed relief to the country, where nearly 18 million people require emer- gency food assistance, according to the UN. “We’re doing our best to get food assistance to those people who need it most,” Anderson said. “The situation in Yemen unfortunately does not show signs of improvement right now.” Yemen has been mired in conflict since 2015 between the country’s government, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and Houthi separatists. The republic, which imports 90 percent of its food, is now suffering the world’s largest food security emergency. USAID has spent more than $550 million on emergency food assistance in Yemen since the beginning of fiscal year 2017, sending U.S. wheat, peas, vegetable oil and food vouchers to UN agencies and non-governmental orga- nizations fighting hunger overseas. Anderson, with the World Food Program, said the situation on the ground in Yemen is complex, but with support from U.S. farm- ers, they are getting aid to between 6-7 mil- lion people every month. “I think today we’re forming a partnership to help fight hunger together,” Anderson said. Darren Padget, a wheat farmer in Grass Valley and a member of the Oregon Wheat Commission, was on hand for Friday’s event. He said growers take pride in knowing they are helping to feed the world, especially in areas where food is scarce. “It’s what we do, is feed people” Padget said. “To see it going to people who are truly in need, it makes you feel good, and gives you another reason to get up in the morning and go to work.” Oregon farmers grow up to 75 million bushels of mostly soft white wheat per year. About 85-90 percent of the crop is shipped overseas. Rep. Mike McLane, Oregon House Repub- lican Leader and a lieutenant colonel in the See WHEAT/8A Can a diet survive the county fair? A quest for healthy eating in the land of fried foods and sweet treats By BRITTANY NORTON East Oregonian The United States Department of Agriculture has specific guidelines to ensure a healthy lifestyle: Make sure half of your plate is fruits and vegetables, eat whole grains, eat low- fat or fat-free dairy, limit saturated fats and sodium. But what about the week of the county fair, when classic fair foods such as cotton candy, deep fried corn dogs and elephant ears come into our lives? Or when the savory scent of pork roasting over a mesquite barbecue is enough to make anyone’s mouth water and stomach grumble? Fairgoers must make the difficult decision between greasy and delicious fair food and sticking to a healthy diet. But what if there was an option that featured the best of both worlds — appetizing food that isn’t that bad for you? I set out on the hunt to find it on Saturday at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston. The Umatilla County Public Health Department set up a table at the fair to pass out free gear related to suicide prevention, including purple drawstring bags that read “Your life matters.” It was also handing out fruit and vegetable cups to kids, but See HEALTHY/8A Staff photo by E.J. Harris Emily Garcia puts together a fruit cup at the Raspados del Sur food cart on Saturday at the Umatilla County Fair in Hermiston.